Ignition system.



0. T. MASON. IGNITION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APRHZZ, 1912.

1,051,425. Patented Jan.28,1913.

(iii Ma M and State of South Carolina, have invented My invention relates to improvements in ing moment than has heretofore been pos' vice, one of which is sufficient for any num- 5} 'or not a suitable spark is being produced in plied to a single igniter, although it will be 'igniters. operated in the usual manner by Q is due to the wear of the various mechanical so that they will work in harmony with rent such as a definitely timed alternating engines the arrangement necessary must be itliich a movable contact of the make and break igniter is operated entirely by an UNITED STACEES PATENT OFFICE.

examine THOMAS iaAsoN, orsmvrrnn, scorn CAROLINA.

IGNITION sYs'rEM.

1,051,425, Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 22, 1912. Serial No. 692,474.

eleetromagnet, but such devices have not To all whom it may concern.-

proven satisfactory in actual service be- Be it known that I, CIrARLEs THOMAS MASON, acitizen of the United States,-residing at Sumter, in the county of Sumter erate the igniter, and the various parts of same must therefore be made very" light and free moving, whereas they should be heavy and the movable electrode should fit tight enough to prevent leakage. It is also necessary with such plugs to have the magnet coils directly associated with the moveert-ain new and useful Improvements in Ignition Systems, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

ignition systems in which make and break igniters are employed, and the objects .of my improvement are, first, to provide a means for more accurately timing the sparkare separated; therefore, the mechanical opsible-partieularly with multi-cylinder en gines; second, to provide means whereby the control of the -make and break igniter is effected by an electric circuit closing deber of igniters; and, third, to provide a visual indicating device which will show whether or not current is passing across the igniter points, thereby indicating whether considerably out of time, due to wear or looseness, without affecting the timing of the igniter, which is controlled by electrical means.

In the accompanying drawing 1 denotes a suitable source of current. This may be a magneto as shown, or a battery. Associated with this device or battery is the cam 2 operating the circuit interrupter indicated at 8 and 4; this interrupter may be so arranged as to normally short circuit the current source, although in case a battery is used it is preferable to include it in series therewith so that it will simply open and close the circuit when operated.

One side of the. current. source is usually grounded, as shown at 5 on the frame of the engine, while the other side is connected by means of conductor 6 to the electric control device, the coils of which are indicated at 7. Conductor 8 now carries the circuit to the insulated electrode 9 of the ordinary make and break igniter, the electrode 10 of which is usually movable and, being part of the engine frame, is of course grounded, as indicated. at 11, and thereby completes the circuit.

In the case of multi-cylinder engines co1i ductor 6 runs to one side of all the coils 7, but it will be noted that there is no circuit through any of the coils except when the igniter points in circuit therewith are closed.

' the engine cylinder. I attain these objects by the combination and arrangement of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawing which illustrates my system as ap- 'understood that any number of igniters may be operated in connection with each other.

On engines equipped with make and break 'means of cams, gears or push rods, considerable difiieulty is experienced in keeping the ignition properly timed, or in advancing and retarding the time of ignition. This parts, and to the inertia of same, for which due allowance must be made. In the case of engines having more than one cylinder it is quite difficult'to time the various igniters each other and a common source of ourcurrent magneto, and when it is necessary to advance the spark on such nniltiplc-cylinder quite complicated and requires frequent adjustment. Some attempt has been made to overcome these difficulties by using what is eommonly known as a magnetic plug, 1

cause the electric current is required to op-" ing electrode stems, and in this position they Patented Jan. 28, 1913. v

era-ting device for setting the igniter may be. I

12 denotes a cam of the usual type mounted on the push rod 13 which is operated by the engine in any well known manner. And it Will be seen that as the cam 12 passes under the roller 14 the bar 15 will be raised upwardly and held in this position by rea- .-son of the armature 16 of the electric con trol device, and that arm 17, by means of spring 18, pulls on arm 19 attached to shaft 20, thereby closing the contacts 9 and, 10. Now it will be noted that after 15 is once latched up cam 12 no longer aiiects the op eration of the igniter.

In firing the igniter it will be understood that cam 2 revolves in definite time with the engine, and at the proper instant it operates the interrupter 3 and 4, thereby permitting current to fibw in the circuit, and the points 9 and 10 being closed. coils 7 are energized, armature 16 is drawn inwardly, igniter mechanism is operated, the points 9 and 10 separated, and the spark produced. The coils 7 may (although this is not essential) serve as the ordinary hump or spark coil, if battery is used instead of the magneto.

In the case of multi-cylinder engines it will be noted that no additional distributer or circuit interrupter-s are necessary, as the earn 2 may be driven at suitable speed to permit the current impulses to flow in the circuit at the proper time to electrically operate whichever igniter is latched shut, and

that only such gniter will operate, the circuit through all the others being open.

The interruptt r 3 and 4 is easily adjusted, particularly as compared with the mechanical adjustments necessary'it' the igniter is operated solely by mechanical means; furthermore, to vary the time of ignition with a single or multi-cylinder engine it is only necessary to move the interrupter in relation to the cam, thereby making the operation of the ignitcr early or late as desired, there being no necessity of changing the time of the operation of cam 12 in relation to its igniter, as there is a considerable interval of time between the closing of the igniter and the firing of same.

The igniter contacts within the cylinder, which is indicated by the dotted line 21,

often become foul, and the current ceases to flow. To indicate the condition of the circuit, I provide in combination with the electric control mechanism a suitable visual nation with the electric control device as herein described.

I claim:'

L-In combination with an internal combustion engine, a source of current, a make and break igniter, a circuit c onnecting said source of current and igniter, interrupter mechanism in said circuit, means operated by the engine for closing the igniter contacts, locking mechanism for holding the igniter contacts closed, and electromagnetic means for releasing said locking mechanism to permit the igniter contacts to open in time with tile c rcuit interrupter mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In an ignition system, a dynamo, a cam on the, armature i said dynamo, a circuit closeroperated by said cam and connected in multiple with said dynamo, a make and bi'eiikigiiitei' and means for operating same, circuit wires connecting said dynamo and igniter, a member connected to the movable contact of. said igniter, and means for engaging and holding said memb r to hold the igniter contacts closed, said means including the armature of an electromagnet included serially in circuit between the dynamo and igniter.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atfix my signature in he presence of two Witnesses CHARLES THOMAS MASON.

\Vitncsses F. (l. MANNING, S. C. MoKnowN. 

